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Fort Dix Terror Plot, Documents: Some Suspects in U.S. Illegally

(ABC News) FORT DIX, N.J. – May 8, 2007 – Six members of an alleged homegrown terror cell that intended to launch a commando-style attack on a military base in New Jersey were arrested by the FBI Monday night after a 15-month investigation. “Their alleged intention was to conduct an armed assault on the army base and to kill as many soldiers as possible,” a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in New Jersey said. The associated press is reporting FBI complaints list the suspects accused in plotting to shoot soldiers at Fort Dix as: Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka, Serdar Tatar and Agron Abdullahu. Checks with Immigration and Customs Enforcement show that Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Shain Duka are illegally living in the United States. The Fort Monmouth Army Base in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the FBI building in Philadelphia were allegedly considered as targets and put under surveillance by a New Jersey-based terror group before members settled on Fort Dix, where one cell member allegedly had unfettered access as a pizza delivery man, ABC News has learned. Three high-level law enforcement sources told ABC News that the investigation into the plot had been ongoing for 15 months. Four of the six suspects were born in Yugoslavia, one was born in Jordan and the other in Turkey. All were U.S. residents. It began when a man walked into a photo shop and asked to convert a tape to a DVD, two law enforcement officials said. The tape contained scenes of men conducting weapons training in an isolated area of the Pocono Mountains in New Jersey, using handguns and rifles and firing live ammo, senior law enforcement officials said. It was intended for training purposes and to recruit more members to the group’s cause, according to those officials. The technician making the dub from tape to DVD saw the content and notified authorities. The case was passed from regional counterterror officials in New Jersey to the Philadelphia FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force. It was soon determined that the men allegedly intended to assault a military base using automatic weapons. Electronic eavesdropping and a confidential informant determined that the men were serious in their intent. Though the plot did not reach an operational phase, the alleged cell members completed their surveillance and selected Fort Dix as their target. It was chosen because one cell member’s family owned a pizza parlor near the base and that member was able to enter the base to deliver pizza. The group believed this access would enable its attack to succeed. Early today about six members of the group were arrested after what appeared to be a sting operation in which an informant was willing to procure Russian-style assault rifles described by authorities as AK-47s and U.S. M-16 automatic rifles for the men. Jihadist propaganda material, including “generalized messages” from Osama bin Laden and other leaders, was seized, authorities said. It had been downloaded from the Internet. Army’s Fort Dix installation in Burlington County and attack soldiers.